Making Cabbage Rolls is easier than you think with this simple but genius trick. No more boiling cabbage leaves and stinking up the kitchen. And, this recipe has a few steps that can be done in advance so when the mood strikes you, you can easily whip up a batch.
So what’s this big secret? Freezing the cabbage. No, really. Seriously. Toss the entire cabbage in the freezer and make sure it’s frozen solid. Wrap it tightly in 2 plastic bags. I recommend at least a week, just to make sure it’s had time to get nice and frosty. Over night isn’t enough. Then, when you’re ready to make the Cabbage Rolls, just pull out the cabbage and let it thaw in the sink for about 8 hours. Or overnight in the fridge. Cut the centre core out and the leaves literally fall off. No boiling needed. They’re soft and pliable and perfect for rolling.
Update to this post – scroll down to the comments at the bottom – Rick shared with me some tips for freezing the cabbage and a variation to the meat mixture that sounds like a winner!
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Here’s another tip for you. Cook the rice in advance and freeze that too. Not just for speeding up the process but rice dries out when it’s frozen so it absorbs some of the liquid from the meat while the Cabbage Rolls are cooking. You end up with a really good texture inside the cabbage leaves. Using raw rice doesn’t work well so this way is ideal.
This is a pretty simple recipe with no special ingredients. Cabbage Rolls aren’t exactly sexy. But they’re a popular comfort food kinda meal. It’s fun to get a few friends together and make a huge batch, then everyone can take a pan home.
I worked with a woman a million years ago and she was an expert cabbage roll maker. In fact, she made them for a large Ukrainian Hall so I’m pretty sure she knew what she was doing. The recipe she shared with me was hand written and included ground “back ham.” I asked my local butcher if he knew what that was. He didn’t but suggested it’s probably just ground pork because the meat comes from the back end. So I use beef and pork. Somewhere around half and half beef to pork is what you want. Give or take. And a simple seasoning of salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder is all you need. Don’t pre cook the meat.
Sometimes the meat and rice mixture needs a bit of liquid to help it stick together. Since you don’t need the whole can of tomato juice, pour a little into the mixture to help it along. Not too much, about 1/4 cup should do the trick. I like to use my hands to combine mixtures such as this but I also have kitchen gloves so if that thought of working the meat with your bare hands bothers you, try a thin kitchen glove.
How to make Cabbage Rolls
Peel a few outer leaves from the cabbage once you’ve cut the centre core out (from the bottom, or at least cut closely around it in a circle) and lay them in the bottom of a large baking dish. Pour plain tomato juice in the bottom of the pan, on top of the leaves. Not too much, just to wet them.
This recipe makes about 16 cabbage rolls so you need either one big cabbage or 2 smaller ones. If the cabbage is still frosty inside which is often the case, run hot tap water over top as you work your way to the inside leaves. They’ll peel right off. Also, the inside core of each leaf can be tough so cut part of it off. Especially as you work your way into the inside leaves.
Now start rolling. Lay a few leaves on a clean surface and add about 1/3 cup of the meat mixture in the bottom of each cabbage leaf. Roll over, then fold in the sides and continue to roll until you have a nice little bundle.
Continue until all the meat filling is used up. Lay your cabbage rolls in a single layer in the baking dish. Here’s how to cut the leaves if the centre vein gets too tough. You can cut that out and cross the open part of the cabbage leave over like this.
You can also use part leaves and get creative as the leaves get smaller and tougher. It all ends up tasting the same anyway. Using larger cabbage, however, prevents running out of good sized leaves. Just discard the leftover cabbage since it’s been frozen, unless you wanted to make cabbage soup.
Once they’re all rolled, spread canned tomato soup over top of the rolls. Don’t dilute the soup, use it right from the can. The sweetness of the soup works well with the sour tomato juice that’s poured over top. You probably won’t need the entire can of juice but use enough that the rolls are mostly covered.
You can either lay all the rolls in one very large pan in one layer or divide them into 2 pans. I usually make one pan with the first leaves which are larger, using about 1/3 cup of meat, then a smaller pan with smaller rolls and a little less meat. These freeze well too! But bake them first and freeze after they’ve cooked 2 hours and cooled. Then bake them about an hour (or more if they’re still frozen) before serving.
If you’re going to eat your Cabbage Rolls right away, bake them for about 3 hours in total, covered tightly with foil. Start at 325 for 2 hours, then increase to 350 for the last hour. The long slow cooking time ensures the cabbage is very soft so you don’t end up with stringy pieces of cabbage.
A popular way to serve Cabbage Rolls is with mashed potatoes. Or even better, roasted garlic mashed potatoes. Cut the very top off an entire head of garlic to expose the cloves, drizzle with olive oil, wrap in foil then toss in the oven for about 45 minutes or so while the Cabbage Rolls are cooking. Squeeze all the garlic into cooked potatoes, add some milk (or CREAM!) and butter and whip or mash. Yum.
Since you’ve got leftover tomato juice, why not make extra meat and rice mixture and use the leftovers to make Tijuana Meatball Soup! I always do.
If you make your own Cabbage Rolls, consider leaving a comment or rating below. Here’s the recipe:
Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 lb lean ground pork
- 2 cups cooked rice previously frozen is best or slightly undercooked rice
- 1 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1-2 heads green cabbage 1 very large or 2 smaller
- 1 can tomato soup
- 4 cups plain tomato juice large can, 1.36 litre
Instructions
- Wrap cabbage tightly in plastic and freeze solid, preferable at least a week.
- Cook rice according to manufacture instructions and freeze.
- Remove cabbage from freezer at least 8 hours prior to assembly and thaw at room temperature or over night in refrigerator.
- Combine beef, pork, rice, salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder. Add a little tomato juice if the mixture seems a bit dry. Maybe ¼ cup. This is optional but sometimes a little liquid helps.
- Cut centre core from cabbage bottom. Pull a few leaves off and lay in the bottom of a large baking dish. Run hot tap water over cabbage if necessary as you assemble the rolls if it's still partially frozen.
- Pour tomato juice over leaves in pan, just enough to cover the bottom.
- To assemble rolls, spoon about ⅓ cup of meat mixture onto bottom part of cabbage leaf. Roll tightly, folding in sides to make a small bundle. Lay rolls in one layer in baking dish. Repeat until all meat is used up. Discard leftover cabbage. Use one very large baking dish or roasting pan. Or, make in 2 smaller pans. You can also pile the rolls on top of each other. If you do, spoon tomato soup over first layer before adding second.
- Spread undiluted tomato soup over top of cabbage rolls. Pour tomato juice over top to mostly cover rolls. You will not need all the juice.
- Cover pans tightly with foil or lid and bake at 325° for 2 hours, then increase heat to 350° for one more hour. If you're freezing the Cabbage Rolls, cook for the first 2 hours, cool, then freeze. Reheat at 350° for one hour, or longer if they're still frozen.
- Serve with mashed potatoes if desired.
I was pondering trying your salsa recipe and now I have to make cabbage rolls too!
And make sure you get extra meat so you can also make Tijuana Meatball Soup! lol
Hi Marci….love this recipe….works like a dream….and l make mine in Kelowna, BC. Hugs!
I’m glad you love it! And I love Kelowna, one of the most beautiful places in Canada!!
These look delicious! Thanks for the tips.
Remember when we used to make them at your house? Too bad we didn’t know the secret about freezing the cabbage then. Would’ve made life much easier!
Please stop promoting freezing the cabbage. It makes the leaves rubbery and unchewable. Also it is a necessity to use raw rice. Under no circumstances can you cook the rice first. Just make lazymans if you insist on desecrating them.
Hi Cory,
Thanks for your comment. I’ve been making cabbage rolls for years. I’ve made them many many times with boiled leaves. And now I’ve made them many times with frozen cabbage. The leaves are never rubbery when I make them so if you’re having that problem, it’s likely because you need to cook the cabbage rolls much longer. I know people who actually cook them over night but for me, 3 hours seems to be about right.
I’ve also experimented with cooked and uncooked rice. I like the results using cooked, then dried out rice.
So I will continue to make mine this way and you can make yours your way and I’m certain the cabbage roll police aren’t going to be visiting either one of us.
I just made stuffed cabbage with uncooked rice and the rice is hard 🙁 do you have any suggestions? I intend to freeze these and then heat up for Rosh Hashana, so maybe in the reheating I can get the rice soft?
Yes, that’s exactly why I don’t use raw rice in my cabbage rolls. But you should be able to save them. I would suggest adding some extra liquid after they’ve been in the freezer before you heat them. And reheat them for a while so the rice has time to absorb more liquid. Hope this works!
I make cabbage roll with uncooked rice and never had a problem .
The rice cooks beautifully every time .
My dad was born in Ukraine. I was taught to always freeze my cabbage and cook my rice before rolling (and meat as well). My customers never complain and always come back for more…just saying
Thanks for your comment!
Hello Marci, love your recipe and it is similar to the one I have been using for many years. Being of Ukrainian descent, I love cabbage rolls. My sisters family (Ottawa area) and mine get together every year to celebrate Ukrainian Christmas, she make the perogi and I make the holopchi.
A couple of things I do differently, I remove the core, soak the cabbage heads in vey warm water with salt and vinegar added, about 1 cup of white vinegar per pot of water, and freeze the heads in large zip lock bags with some of the liquid. It turns into a giant ice cube, when you thaw it out, the salt a vinegar goes all the way into the leaves giving the cabbage a proper tang.
One other thin, I experimented with pork and beef ratios, then tried using some ground kolbasa mixed with the hamburger. That turned out the best and I now do that all the time. I use the cheaper grocery store kolbasa, grind it up and mix it about 1/3 kolbasa to hamburger. Give it the flavour I recall cabbage rolls having when my aunt in Saskatchewan made them many years ago.
Thanks again for this great recipe.
Rick Chaykowski, Kingston Ontario
Wow Rick, thank you so much for the tips! I love your suggestions and will definitely give them a try. I will update my blog post right now to invite readers to check out your comment so they can try them too!
Also, I have to say you’re very lucky to live in Kingston. What a great city! It’s in my top 3 best places in Canada (the other 2 being Kelowna, B.C. and Halifax, N.S. – well anywhere in the Maritimes is pretty awesome actually.)
Thanks for weighing in!
Marci
Hi Marci….love this recipe….works like a dream….and l make mine in Kelowna, BC. Hugs!
So glad you love it! And I love Kelowna!!
Hi Rick (or Marci),
How long do you recommend soaking the cabbage head in warm water/vinegar/salt solution before transferring to a freezer bag with some of the reserved solution?
Can the freezer time be a day or two using this method?
Thanks, Tom
Hi Tom, I hope Rick is able to answer for you. I would love to know the answer. I would guess that soaking at least over night would allow for the solution to really soak into the cabbage and freezing for a minimum of several days.
I’m due to make a batch soon so I will have to try this. And for sure adding some ground kielbasa into the mixture as well!
Hi Marci,
Did you end up using Tom’s recipe? I’m curious how long to soak it for!
Thanks!
I haven’t tried the soaking method yet (I think it was actually Rick who mentioned it) but I did try his suggestion of adding kielbasa to the meat mixture which was excellent. I will try the soaking method this fall when cabbage is in season. I’m always open to variations!
I would like to know as well!
I noticed recently in a larger grocery store they have whole soaked cabbage in a brine. I think they’re called sour cabbage head. The label said ready to make cabbage rolls or sauerkraut. I didn’t buy one but if anyone else has, I’d love to hear their thoughts.
My brother and sister in law use that kind of cabbage that is in the brine to make cabbage rolls and they love it.
Wow that sounds good!!
Hi, could I freeze the cabbage rolls before cooking them. thank you
Absolutely! I usually cook mine before freezing, maybe a little undercooked, but for sure they freeze well either way.
I thought some extra seasoning would be a plus, first time I used the frozen cabbage trick and I loved it. To get some extra flavor I added a half of an onion soup mix and extra paprika, used V8 for the juice and instead of tomato soup I used Prego Marinara sauce for some extra spice. Reminded me of the cabbage rolls I had in Karlsruhe Germany back in the 60’s when I was in the Army. Will be doing this again.
This was absolutely delicious just like my mom’s when I was young. Just perfect for a fall day!
Thanks so much! I have a cabbage in my freezer right now for the next batch!
My Mom was Polish and she considered hers to be a Polish – Ukraine recipe. She made hers different than any other recipe Ive read. Starts with sautéed chopped up onion & bacon, add it to the raw Ground beef and ground pork and Cooked white rice. Mix all together, add little bit of tomato juice, stuff the frozen then thawed cabbage leaves, put in crock pot ( I use a 6qt) . Pour tomato juice over rolls (i use plain tomato juice and/or V8). Put 1 or 2 whole rings of polska kielbasa on top of rolls- I put a slit in it lengthwise. Lay some leftover cabbage leaves over the Kielbasa, pour some more tomato juice on top. Cook on low 8-10 hours. We also put whole or chopped stalks of celery on the bottom of the crock pot, soaks up all the flavors & just adds to the recipe. I add some salt and pepper to the mix before stuffing. The salt & seasonings in the kielbasa season the rolls.
Yum! I’ve seen versions of cabbage rolls with kielbasa on top. Thanks for the suggestion!